Many pieces of woodwork on display were collected by the museum from Parisian hotels destroyed at the end of the 19th century.

After World War I, the Carnavalet museum was one of the first museums to convert rooms into period rooms resembling, through woodwork and furniture, refined Parisian interiors, especially from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. With a few rare exceptions, the furniture on display does not have illustrious origins, but does represent the extraordinary refinement and inexhaustible fecundity of Parisian furniture makers and cabinetmakers. A few pieces belonged to historical figures, such as the chair in which Voltaire died, Couthon’s mechanical chair, or the imperial prince’s cradle, donated by the Empress Eugenie.

The collection includes several major pieces, such as a 13th century chest with beautiful ironwork decoration, a large flat desk with eight legs attributed to André-Charles Boulle, as well as pieces designed by the big names in Parisian cabinet work: Migeon, Riesener or Weisweiler. Visitors can also admire millwork (seats by Foliot, Sené or Jacob), furnishing bronzes, mounted porcelain, clocks and tapestries.